The Diet Begins

I've been wanting to write this post for quite some time but keep putting it off. There is just SO much I need to include in this post, since I really just want to get down in print what my intentions are for losing weight, getting healthy and fit -- basically doing a lifestyle makeover.

I have been dodging making the changes I need to for a while now, blaming my postponements on vacations, visiting company, and special occasions. Well, I just can't keep putting it off.

My friend Patty was up visiting this past weekend and she looks great -- she's recently taken off 20 pounds as a result of following Weight Watchers. I've been following her progress and because I hadn't seen her in a while the pounds she's lost have become really apparent. I found myself wishing I'd stuck to a plan as faithfully as she has, thinking that by now I would probably be at my goal weight too.

I've been looking at different diet plans and programs, trying to decide which one would really fit in with my beliefs and needs. I'm not a fan of taking pills to fix health problems (unless it's really the best way to handle things of course.) I'm much more comfortable with getting to the root of the problem and handling it with natural methods if possible. In my case, in addition to being overweight I have high blood pressure and cholesterol and my sugar levels are up there as well. I know that by following a healthy diet and getting into an exercise routine, many of these issues would correct themselves.

I've also done a lot of reading about whole/real foods and believe that many of my health issues are due to the foods I eat. Most are lacking in any real nutrition and are loaded with sodium, sugar, preservatives, and artificial ingredients. That's one of the reasons that it's been hard to find a diet that I feel I can get excited about. I'm not looking to just count calories (and eat anything I want as long as I stay within my limits) and I don't want to eat pre-made, frozen, or modified foods (meaning low-fat or  reduced calorie versions of foods that I probably shouldn't be eating anyway.)

My goal is to lose weight by eating nutritious whole foods, to become healthy and fit, and to have the changes I make to achieve this become permanent lifestyle changes.

It's kind of scary to think about. I've been trying to wrap my head around this and what it's going to mean for my life. But I think I'm finally ready to jump on board.

I'll be writing more tomorrow about what my new lifestyle plan is all about. But I purchased a scale today, I'm dumping a whole lot of food in the trash tonight (garbage pickup tomorrow!) and even though I'm going to Atlanta for a long weekend to visit my son and his wife, I intend to stick with it. I was impressed with how well Patty did this past weekend staying on track. She's inspired me beyond words ... and I think her success has helped me to set my fears aside and get moving.

Tomorrow is my first weigh in ... and then the fun begins!

Under The Wire ...

Did I make it? With 2 minutes left in this day I am hoping this post will get in under the wire.

I knew I probably wouldn't post today but didn't think to mention that there were days I knew would be almost impossible for posting. Today was one because ... drum roll ... my dear friend Patty is here for the weekend (YAY!!!) and we got up bright and early this morning and drove for a couple hours to Manchester, NH for the World Quilt Show.

It was fantastic. We had such a great time!

But I'm exhausted now and heading to bed. Tomorrow I'll post pics (if I can get the them on to my computer from Patty's camera) and share highlights ...

To bed to bed said Sleepy Head ...

The Lost Art of Saying What We Need

William NEEDS pizza pie!

I spoke to my daughter a few minutes ago and she was telling me about how she and her brother Josh took my grandson William to visit with their Grandma last night. She told me about all the cute things he did and said (he's almost 2 years old and has become a little chatterbox.) She mentioned that toward the end of the visit he was getting crabby and wanted to go home. He hadn't had a nap and it was starting to catch up with him.

She told me he started to say. "Need to get in car. Need to go to Will's house."

I love that. And when we were on our cruise last month I noticed he did the same thing. He'd say, "Need to (fill in the blank )" -- find Mom and Dad, go eat hot dog, find Chik car, get chocolate milk ...

I guess what I love is that at (almost) 2 years of age, Will knows what he needs. And he expresses that. I find myself marveling at this ability and wish it was something I could do more of. Somewhere along the way I have grown too polite or too concerned about making sure others needs are met to worry about my own.

How often I would love to say, "I need some help here" or "I need to go to bed" or "I need to eat something that is healthier than this." Or -- "I need to get out of here!"

I think what I really NEED is to start finding ways to express myself and say what I NEEDbetter!

Just saying.

Learning Something New!

I've decided it's time that I learn how to use my Photoshop software. This realization came to me when I tried to follow along with a video on blog designing and I had to perform a simple (well, according to the video that made it look oh-so-easy!) task of moving a background image into a template I had created.

I couldn't do it and spent at least 30 minutes trying to figure out HOW to do it. I know I'm going to kick myself when I finally see how easy it actually is.

I debated getting a trial copy of the Photoshop version the instructor was using but I stopped myself. I knew that would lead to spending money later on to buy the software because I now have an inkling how to use it. Wouldn't it just be easier (and a whole lot cheaper?) to just learn to use the version I already have? I think so.

(Image courtesy of Lynda.com)

And so I finally, FINALLY, took the plunge and signed up at Lynda.com to learn how to use my software. And, as time allows, how to use some of the other software I have around here. And I plan to go through the digital photography course available there. And maybe, just maybe I'll actually take a few hours and find out all the stuff I should know (but don't) about my Microsoft Office software.

I'm excited. I can't wait to jump in and start watching videos. Of course, I have company coming around dinnertime and I have a long "to do" list of things to get ready before then. Plus, we're going to attempt RMV again today and *fingers-crossed* get our vehicles registered. I think that might actually make us "official" here in Massachusetts.

And then of course, I need to clean up my work space where I have my desktop computer. I plan to watch the videos on my desktop monitor and then follow the exercises on my laptop. So all you stacks of paper currently occupying my workspace -- hope you didn't get too comfortable. You're about to be moved to a new home.

Did I mention I'm excited?

Yeah. And did I mention I have a really long "to do" list?

Thought so. I'm outta here!

Wordless Wednesday -- Reflections

Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska by Barbara Paine

New Habits Come Hard ...

OK -- so it's almost 9:30 at night and I'm just getting to my blog posting. Sigh. What was it my mom always said? Something to the effect that good intentions won't get you where you want to go ... (yeah, quite often I've had to clean up my mom's "words of wisdom". The message was good, just not the wording!)

Well, my intention was to get into the habit of posting to my blog on a more regular basis. I felt that by making it a habit I would start posting as a natural part of my day. I still think that. It's just today ... well, kind of fell apart.

I was off to a good start, even though I barely slept last night and found myself sleeping in late once I finally got to sleep. Then I got into my morning routine (although happily I did not jump on the computer and waste an hour reading emails and facebook.) However, next thing I knew, Dave was sending me a text saying he was on his way home and we were going to attempt the RMV again.

So -- blog post had to wait. Into the shower I hopped and off we went. After we finished at RMV we stopped for lunch and then decided to stop at the bank and open accounts. Only as we pulled into the bank, the car started to stall. And it wouldn't start back up.

Argh! We can't believe that we are AGAIN dealing with car issues! After waiting for an hour for the tow truck to arrive we were on our way to the car dealership.

We didn't get back home until dinnertime and after a quick bite to eat we ran into town for trips to the library and store. Finally we are back home and after checking email, etc., it dawned on me that I was already messing up on my new habit challenge.

SOOO -- my hope is that tomorrow will be a different story. This isn't the post I planned to write. There's time for that. And I managed to get this written in the time I allotted to posting. Woo hoo!

Apparently -- Not Yet!

Josh, Jess, and Will with Dave, moi, Marie and Steve in front of the Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau Alaska

No -- I'm not still in Alaska (although I'd like to be!)And my brother left last week ... so ... I have no excuse for not blogging!

In my last post I was starting to wonder when I'd get back on track with blogging and, well, life in general.

Apparently not yet :)

And with plans for company this weekend and a trip to Georgia the next, then a trip to New York after that, it's not likely I'm going to pull it together any time soon. It might seem as though my blog isn't important to me but that's hardly the case. In fact, maybe it's because it's very important to me that I am procrastinating.

I don't want to just post for the sake of posting. And I don't want to just slap up any old thing. I really like to think things through, mull through pictures, think about the words I want to use to get my meaning across. That's part of the problem. Blogging isn't meant to be about being perfect. And I need to get over that.

I'm thinking that blogging has to become a habit. Not an after-thought or something I do when I find the time. I need to make it a priority and schedule it into my daily activities. I guess if that means giving myself a time limit to put out a blog post, then maybe I'll learn to work faster, get my thoughts out in whatever form they come (editing as I have time) ... and gradually it will become more natural.

One of the things I have wanted to work on is creating good habits. With a long list of things I'd like to change about my life, maybe tackling a new habit each week would be a way to make it happen (there's no way I'll run out of self-improvement tweaks any time soon!)

I've decided -- this week's good habit is going to be posting on a daily basis. I think my goal will be to post about lunch time every day ...

Let's see how it goes!